Inside the Wolfberg Cracks
I’ve said that I’ve done crazy hikes in the past BUT THIS ONE WAS ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!!!!
About 2 hours from Cape Town you will find the beautiful mountainous ranges of the Cederberg. Being an ocean loving family, I have never really visited this part of my province, but now that I have, I’ll definitely be back - and quite soon.
Camping at Sandriff the night before the hike
My sister, Jade, had planned the trip and asked me and her friend Michael to join her. Just some backstory - Jade has multiple sclerosis (MS) and struggles with vertigo, fatigue, weekened right leg and right arm amongst a couple other things. But she was super keen to do this hike so I agreed.
I have no idea why Google maps says 1hr46mins because it doesn’t take difficulty into consideration. This hike takes most people 3-4 hours of consistent hiking over sections of difficult Boulder climbs
The hike is TOUGH and not for newby hikers but I felt up to it and chatted to a few friends that had done it in the past for some pointers. Jade is used to doing a couple short hikes per week, around 3-6 kilometres at a time. Michael is a super fit mountain biker who’s been doing some of our day hikes with us around the Table Mountain area. It would be my and Michael’s job to get Jade through this two day hike and back home safely.
On day 1 of travelling we made our way to the Cederberg range, permits in hand. It turns out you need to an overnight permit from Cape Nature in order to sleep on the mountain, as well as a day permit from the Sanddrif Estate Reception in order to access the hike via their private property which includes the Wolfberg Cracks. It just so happens that they are on the same property at Cederberg Wine Estate, so if you ever visit this region of the world the. Drop by for some wine tasting / purchasing.
We slept at the Sanddrif Campsite for one night and then got up early to pack up and get moving. The day pass is only issued on the day of hiking so we headed to the Sanddrif reception, paid our fees and headed back.
We parked in the designated Parking in the conservancy and met another couple that were also heading up a similar route. We all got chatting and we’re keen to keep in touch during the hike.
We started up the zigzagging steep rocky path towards the top of the mountain side where you can just make out the Wolfberg Cracks (top right)
This first 1.5kms was a constant uphill trudge and I kept pulling out maps.me to make sure we were still on the path. There was little to no signage whatsoever with a small pile of stones here and there indicating the way or a small wall of stones blocking the way.
About 3/4 up the mountain side we approached an incredibly huge cube shaped Boulder that must have fallen from the cliffs above at some point. It’s crazy to think that this building sized rock was once teetering high up in the air.
Soon after we passed the cube Boulder it started to drizzle. It’s amazing how moods change it’s the weather. It literally put a damper on our hike as Jade became more weary of what lay ahead.
But the Wolfberg Cracks were now just above us and we could see our two new friends already starting the lowest part of the climb up the Narrow Crack. You can spot their tiny figures at the bottom of the picture scaling a face.
Can you see them
Jade and I up the first big boulders of the Wide Crack
We were adamant that we were going to keep left and take the Wide Crack which we had been told was much easier, but easier us relative to your fitness and ability.
As incredible as our surrounding rock formations were, Jade struggled up in the damp conditions, needing a boost now and then, or passing a backpack up some of the steep sections so that she could make the climb.
The crack was about 800m long and the GPS signals seemed to bounce crazily off the walls and extended our readings by a long shot!
Michael easily made it up with his extra heavy pack and helped us ladies up some of the trickier sections. We continued to follow the small piles of rocks up the Crack as there was no discernible paths on the rocks.
A couple hundred meters further and many beautiful rock formations later and we were nearing the top of the crack and the end of our first major climb.
We walked out of the cracks into the wide open misty space of the mountain top plateau. The relief of making it up the mountain was awesome! And just up ahead we spotted only the second sign post of the day so far. The Cape Nature sign for the Wolfberg Arch about 5kms ahead.
The Wolfberg Arch was our destination for the day and our camping spot for the night so you’ll have to check out my next post for all the juicy details and epic photos.
See you tomorrow!